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New Research: CFOs Increasingly Aware Of Commercial Litigation Assets And Poised To Unlock More Value From Legal

June 28, 2021

New Research: CFOs Increasingly Aware Of Commercial Litigation Assets And Poised To Unlock More Value From Legal

Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today releases new independent research probing how CFOs and senior financial officers influence corporate legal departments, legal spend and their companies’ success in recovering value through affirmative recoveries. Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital, commented: “CFOs bring a commercial mindset to other areas of the business—and the legal function should be no exception, particularly given the amount of working capital potentially at stake, measured not only in the many millions now spent on commercial claims but also the even greater opportunity costs of diverting corporate resources and the untapped opportunity to pursue valuable claims altogether.” The research suggests that companies are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in how they approach legal assets, and that financial officers understand their value and have new opportunities to more fully leverage tools to unlock them.  Key findings from the research include: Affirmative recovery and cost management programs are extensive—and ready for growth
  • 73% of financial officers report extremely/very extensive affirmative recovery programs, and 84% report extremely/very extensive legal cost management programs
  • 46% report a need for improvement in these programs
Companies have extensive opportunities to enhance liquidity
  • 75% of companies with over $1 billion in annual revenues reported unenforced judgments worth $20–$100 million in 2020
  • Companies with inadequate affirmative recovery programs are 27% more likely to leave money on the table
Financial officers have new ways to apply the same financial approach to legal as other business areas
  • Just 24% say they apply quantitative financial modeling to make decisions about litigation as they do in other areas of the business
  • 39% say litigation variables don’t lend themselves to quantitative analysis—revealing an untapped opportunity to utilize tools and partners to quantify legal risk
Bringing a commercial mindset to legal will reinforce more commercial behaviors—benefiting the business
  • 59% believe that pending litigations are assets because they represent future cash flow, even if they don’t show up on the balance sheet, and 56% believe that the legal department should have commercial targets
  • However, a significantly large percentage of financial officers aren’t yet bringing a commercial mindset to legal
  • Those who conduct quantitative analysis of litigation are significantly more likely to say that their companies need to place greater priority on their affirmative recovery programs—suggesting the kind of appetite for improved performance and financial innovation that leading companies value
The 2021 Legal Asset Report: A Survey of Finance Professionals can be downloaded on Burford’s web site and includes snapshots of energy, food, healthcare and other industries. Its findings are based on the online survey responses from 378 senior financial officers of companies with annual revenues of $50 million or more in the United States, the UK and Australia, conducted in March and April 2021 by Bauman Research and Consulting. Over half of respondents hold CFO titles and all are in roles that include knowledge of their companies’ litigation expenditures. About Burford Capital
About Burford Capital Burford Capital is the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law. Its businesses include litigation finance and risk management, asset recovery and a wide range of legal finance and advisory activities. Burford is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BUR) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BUR), and it works with companies and law firms around the world from its principal offices in New York, London, Chicago, Washington, Singapore and Sydney. For more information, please visit www.burfordcapital.com.
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Announcements Commercial

Burford’s Q2 Profits Surge on New Capital

By John Freund |

Burford Capital has delivered its strongest quarterly performance in two years, buoyed by a swelling pipeline of high-value disputes and a fresh infusion of investor cash.

A press release in PR Newswire reveals that the New York- and London-listed funder more than doubled revenue and profitability in the three months to 30 June 2025. CEO Christopher Bogart credited “very substantial levels of new business” for the uptick, noting that demand for non-recourse financing remains “as strong as we’ve ever seen.”

The stellar quarter follows a lightning-quick, two-day debt offering in July that raised $500 million—capital Burford says will be deployed across a growing roster of commercial litigations, international arbitrations, and asset-recovery campaigns. Management also highlighted significant progress in portfolio rotations, underscoring the firm’s ability to monetise older positions while writing new ones at scale. Investors will get a deeper dive when Burford hosts its earnings call today at 9 a.m. EDT.

Burford’s results arrive amid heightened regulatory chatter in Washington and Westminster, yet the numbers suggest the industry’s largest player is unfazed—for now—by talk of disclosure mandates and tax levies. The firm emphasised that its legal-finance, risk-management and asset-recovery businesses remain uncorrelated to broader markets, a pitch that continues to resonate with pension funds and endowments hunting for alternative yield.

For litigation-finance insiders, Burford’s capital-raising prowess and improving margins could have ripple effects: rival funders may face stiffer competition for marquee cases, while law-firm partners might leverage the firm’s deeper pockets to negotiate richer portfolio deals.

Announcements Commercial

International Legal Finance Association (ILFA) Announces End of Year Gala and Inaugural Legal Finance Awards

By John Freund |

 The International Legal Finance Association is pleased to announce its annual End-of-Year Gala Dinner on November 13, 2025.  The event will take place at The Law Society in London, bringing together leading figures from across the legal finance industry for an evening of celebration and reflection on the year’s achievements.  

The dinner will be accompanied by the inaugural Legal Finance Awards.  The awards are designed to recognize and honor excellence across the legal finance ecosystem. They will spotlight the achievements of funders, law firms, brokers, advisors, and other key contributors to the continued growth and innovation of the industry. Nominations for the awards are now open, with the nomination form available here. 

“The Gala Dinner is a chance for our members and guests to gather in person and celebrate the progress we've made over the year,” said Rupert Cunningham, Global Director of Growth and Membership Engagement at ILFA. “We are especially excited to launch the Legal Finance Awards, which will shine a light on the outstanding work and impact of professionals across our field.”

Tickets for the Gala are on sale now, with discounted pricing available for ILFA members.  More information can be found here.

Announcements Commercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.